episode_0014

“Hello?”

“Can’t you understand with just one try? Do you want to die?”

“No… Who are you?”

I didn’t ask about her identity. I just asked who I was talking to right now.

I felt a creepy gaze from her when I saw her from afar.

But now, all of that disappeared, leaving only anger.

She seemed puzzled by my question and tapped my chest where she had laughed mockingly with her finger.

“Don’t you know who I am?”

The look in her eyes made me feel like she was looking down on me.

And the expression of disdain.

Even if I wanted to fight her, I would lose.

I would die without even a chance of turning the tables.

Or maybe I could win.

Right now, I have Asbel’s sword…

I don’t know.

I can’t picture myself fighting this woman. Who is she?

“Hey. If someone asks you a question, you should answer.”

Her tone was as harsh as when she threatened me earlier. I could feel her anger.

But I couldn’t back down here.

“I don’t know.”

“What?”

The more she asked, the more I had to be bold.

“I don’t know who you are.”

“Wow… Look at this guy. Trying to act tough?”

“I don’t know about that.”

I wanted to take out the weapon in my bag and keep my distance.

I felt like the weapon would fly at me and pierce my stomach at any moment.

I swallowed my cold sweat and tried to control my rough breathing.

“Ha… This guy is totally insane.”

“Do you not know who I am?”

“I know. You’re a crazy bastard. You’re a loser.”

“…”

Well, she’s not wrong.

And there’s nothing good about arguing now.

I’ll save my rebuttal for later.

“Well, it doesn’t matter who you are. I am a sage who appears once every hundred years.”

She was exuding immense arrogance without hiding her emotions at all.

She seemed to be proudly asserting that she was the strongest.

“But how did you get in here with less mana than the others?”

“That’s…”

“That’s why scum like you don’t make it. You don’t even have an ounce of respect for me, Cecilia…”

She took a step back from me, waving her hand.

“You seemed boring anyway.”

Am I going to just stand here and be ignored?

“What are you looking at?”

Sometimes, enduring is a revolutionary act.

Pride should only be asserted when necessary.

But…

There was something uncomfortable about the conversation with her.

Cecilia…?

I definitely heard it.

And the fact that I’m remembering someone’s name means it’s significant.

‘When did I hear it? Where did I hear it?’

After thinking carefully, the face of the person I recalled flashed through my mind.

Cecilia Olette.

She was definitely there.

But back then, Cecilia was a blonde with red eyes.

Why is she black-haired and black-eyed now?

Could this be her true form?

“No. Stop staring.”

“Who are you really?”

“I’ve told you several times, I am Cecilia, the sage who appears once every hundred years!”

“She was blonde with red eyes back then.”

As soon as I finished speaking, her demeanor changed.

“Why aren’t you afraid?”

The air of annoyance she had towards me disappeared.

The arrogance on her face vanished, leaving only darkness.

‘This is dangerous.’

I felt my soul being drawn towards her.

“How do you know about my transformation?”

Before I could muster the strength to answer Cecilia’s question, she muttered to herself.

“This appearance can only be seen by a specific person… How can someone weaker than me, and even a loser at that, see it?”

“Well…”

I don’t know.

From the moment I first saw her, she had black hair.

Looking back now, it was all strange.

How could the group that ran away scared of my bluff not be scared of her?

How could Cecilia, who was in the top 10, change her hair color without anyone knowing?

The pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

It wasn’t that I ignored it, I just didn’t know.

I reached into my bag. It’s not a situation to think about penalties now.

Can I win? I don’t know.

I didn’t know earlier, and I still don’t know now.

It doesn’t come to mind at all.

The pounding of my heart doesn’t hide, the smile doesn’t hide.

The emotion of fear is swallowed up by the emotions of interest and curiosity. A chance to know how strong I am.

If I can defeat her.

That means I can fight with the sword.

And so, the moment I grabbed the handle of the sword.

Clang!

“What are you talking about.”

Both Cecilia and I reacted to the sound of someone running towards us.

“Huh?”

Cecilia’s expression relaxed. The energy we felt just disappeared. What’s going on?

Did they call her teacher?

Or was it just too noisy?

Wait.

Before I came here, there was a promise…

When I turned around, I saw Sarah, who was filled with the same anger as Cecilia.

The distance between that Sarah and me was rapidly closing.

Ah… right.

Thud!

I lost consciousness from a punch that I couldn’t even feel the pain of.

“…”

“Since it was starting to get interesting…”

“You, stop it and give it back.”

“Tsk…”

“…”

“Alright.”

***

“Ugh…”

It’s a familiar room. I feel relieved.

I blinked my eyes unconsciously a few times.

This soft bed. It’s a happy thing to sleep in a place like this.

And just by this feeling alone, I could tell that this was the dormitory I had spent the past week in.

“Who moved me here?”

I didn’t have the strength to get up.

It seems like the aftereffects of the intense training I did every day are showing up now.

My whole body aches.

Every part of my body is screaming at the top of its lungs.

But this is still manageable.

If I just think about the moment I grabbed the sword…

I don’t want to think about that incident again.

Even bad memories make me chuckle. How many scars do I have?

I saw the dark window outside my sight. But the room was darker than the dark window.

It was more terrifying to rely on just the moonlight coming in from outside in the pitch-black room.

Can I get up? The thought of it pales in comparison to the screams of my body that continue without stopping.

“Ah… I’m hungry.”

“Are you awake?”

I somehow heard the quietly muttered word, and the butler next to me answered.

“Yeah… what, what!?”

“Young master?”

“You brought her here?”

“No. Miss Sarah brought you here herself.”

Of course, I was brought here against my will. She should have brought me here more kindly.

…

I should probably be grateful that she brought me here.

If she had left me there, I would probably be lying alone on the hard floor by now.

And since Sarah considers me a friend, she probably brought me here. That’s enough.

“Young master.”

“What.”

“Would you like to have a meal?”

“I don’t think I can right now, but I’ll eat when I feel better.”

“Understood.”

Steven, who I thought would leave, was still sitting quietly in the chair.

“…How long are you going to stay there?”

“I think I’ll be here until you have your meal.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

It felt like my mouth was going to hurt for no reason.

Even if I tell him to leave, he won’t go anyway.

Let’s just not worry about it.

“…”

But now that I’ve already thought about Steven once, it seems like I won’t be able to sleep until he leaves this room.

“Sigh…”

“Can’t you sleep?”

“Why is this happening…”

“Then, may I ask you a question, sir?”

Why are you trying to create this atmosphere just to ask a question?

It doesn’t matter.

I haven’t done anything illegal or suspicious to be questioned.

“What is it?”

“How did you become friends with Miss Sara?”

Ah… this is something to be suspicious about.

A sharp? No, it’s a reasonable question in a way.

Steven must know that I am not on good terms with Sara.

He didn’t know he would be caught, and he didn’t even have time to think about it…

“Just… we became friends while training.”

It might be a strange answer, but sometimes friendship blossoms in the midst of a fight.

If Steven is a martial artist like me, he must have fought more than me.

This excuse seemed more plausible than other excuses.

“…I’m relieved.”

I thought he would understand, but this reaction is completely different from what I expected.

“I was really relieved that you became friends with Miss Sara again and even trained together… I was really relieved.”

Why were you relieved?

Do I look like someone who can’t even make one friend?

I have nothing to say because it’s accurate.

But the word ‘again’…

It seems like I was a little closer to Sara than I was with Lina.

Well, we were somewhat close when we were young, so we must have become enemies or something.

Enjoying the joy of obtaining new information about Sara was short-lived.

Steven said, “Can you participate in tomorrow’s first outdoor class, sir?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Isn’t tomorrow the day for the academy’s traditional game of tag?”

“…It’s tomorrow?”

I remembered what Steven had told me a few days ago.

The academy’s annual traditional game of tag. Right.

The top 10 students against the rest of the students.

Of course, there was no way I could do that with my current condition.

I had worked hard, and the fatigue from fighting with Sara had accumulated.

It wasn’t a test that contributed significantly to the score, despite its grand name of traditional game of tag.

I should just rest tomorrow.

But that thought crumbled within a few minutes.

-Get ready to be embarrassed in front of everyone. I’ll be the first to knock you down.

-Sorry, but I’m the one who’s ‘it’.

Oh… time, please stop! Please!!